Education and Empowerment “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” – Nelson Mandela Education is a universal element considered a fundamental structuring block for the development of human and helps reduce poverty. In its generalized and broadest perspective involves a general sense aiming at habitual sustainability of one generation to the other. It is true that education fulfils and transforms student’s lives through the expansion of knowledge and the mind. Education in the long run has been considerable as a significant aspect in the foundation of the society. Education has now become synonymous with empowerment. Both go hand in hand. Empowerment means reinforcing one's rights to best of their capabilities. It refers to knowing our rights, taking decisions that benefit us and doing what we think is right and having the power to do so. Education is what shows us the way to achieve this. In other words, without education, without the proper know-how we would always remain under someone else's control, living a life without any power or amenities. It lifts up our standard of life, liberated us from the shackles of lies and oppression. An educated person is the one who knows what his rights are, what he is capable to do and what all he should do in order to achieve his goal. When we talk about girl education as well, we see that an educated girl can at times outperform all her male peers and bring glory not only to herself and her family but also to the nation. She knows what she is capable of and this empowers her to strive for excellence. No longer does she remain a burden or a helpless person. Education is meant for empowerment, help learners understand things, develop an attitude to think to question and develop the idea further. Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one. But many educational institutes today provide a mere certification which is rarely an indication of how much the mind have been empowered after the education he has perceived. “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest” – Benjamin Franklin Education can be looked as a way to empowerment. ‘Educating a woman is educating a family’ is a common saying. But time has come when we need to rethink about the 2 most important elements of this saying. Are we imposing the duty to educate a family solely on women? Shouldn’t men and women alike be taught to empower the society as a whole and not just a family? When you educate one person you can change a life, when you educate many you can change the world. Empowerment can be achieved through education for true, but the quality of education is also to be considered. Empowerment cannot be attained by merely receiving lots of degrees, but by honest and sincere knowledge imparted by wellwishers. Empowerment can be greatly achieved if education is imparted through well-wishers who consider teachers first and professors afterwards. Our first education begins at home, when our elders impart them to us through various short stories and poems. Who can forget that working slowly but steadily can help in winning a race? Kindergarten poems empowered us to look into the sky, understand its beauty, and be inquisitive about how stars twinkle, and why are they so high. “The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity” – Dorothy Parker Education helps develop an attitude to question, and understand why, what, how, when and by whom the things around us happen. At a later stage, we are empowered with empathy, love, consideration towards fellow humans through other literatures. Empowerment through scientific, technical, spiritual things can be achieved by reading; which definitely induces the importance of education to read and to understand. “The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows” – Sydney J. Harris Before embarking on a higher education journey, all we have is our own experience. Education opens a window to leaders near and far throughout history, and lets you understand the world in a deeper, more complex way. Ancient holy literatures never fail to mention the importance of reading to empowerment. When prophet Muhammad was visited by the angel Gabriel, the angel revealed a first command ‘Iqra’ meaning ‘read’ in English. Those verses can be roughly translated as Read! in the name of your Lord who created Man from a clinging substance. Read: Your Lord is most Generous,– He who taught by the pen– Taught man that which he knew not It would be considerably heartening seeing schools reaching out to street children, women and the illiterate lacking the accessibility to education. Education is the essential element meant for empowering the society. Perfect quality education is a design on the individual’s strategy requirements basis. This enables the structuring of capacity and preparation for seizure of opportunities in the private and public domains. Similarly, the society empowerment through underprivileged children education should be a considerate instrument in shaping up of their development. This guarantees eligibility and capability of growing up as able persons capable of utilizing potential in the society. Since education would lead to employment eventually, it is an assurance living in a society free of vices that would underrate the performance of the society It is through the educated that innovation and knowledge is introducible to enable every society member to change behaviour and roles played in the society necessary for the good life. Education improvisation and accessibility will enable the fundamental change in ideas of the society towards responsibility.
